27 February 2025 – Baku – The first meeting of the Senior Officials Committee (SOC) of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) under Azerbaijan’s Chairmanship took place in Baku, with broad in-person participation from representatives of CICA Member States.
The SOC meeting was chaired by Azer Musayev, Director of the Regional Security Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The session opened with discussions on Azerbaijan’s vision and strategic priorities for leading the organization until the next CICA Summit in Baku in 2026.
Expanding on the vision under the theme of "Stronger CICA: Connectivity, Digitalization, and Sustainable Growth in Asia", Mr.Azer Musayev provided a comprehensive presentation for CICA development in the next biennium. He emphasized three main priorities: (1) strengthening the organization’s institutional capacity and advancing its transformation into a full-fledged international organization, (2) enhancing sectoral cooperation through the implementation of confidence building measures (CBMs) across various domains, and (3) increasing CICA’s international visibility and influence by fostering synergies with other international and regional platforms. The CICA Member States welcomed and strongly endorsed the strategic priorities of the Azerbaijani Chairmanship.
The SOC discussed and adopted the Annual Action Plan of the CICA Think Tank Forum (TTF) for 2025. The Action Plan comprehensively outlines key areas of cooperation, including energy security, food security, climate change, trade and investment facilitation, digital economy and youth development. As part of this plan, the thirteenth meeting of the CICA Think Tank Forum will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, in the third quarter of 2025, in an offline format.
The SOC also discussed important initiatives on institutional development of CICA, including the Draft Regulations of the CICA Finance Summit, proposed by the previous CICA Chair, Kazakhstan, as well as the establishment of a CICA Women Council — an advisory body introduced by the current CICA Chair, Azerbaijan, dedicated to advancing women empowerment.
Additionally, senior officials reviewed Azerbaijan’s proposal to establish a second Deputy Secretary General position, designed to enhance the Secretariat’s operational capacity and further support CICA activities.
The SOC took note of and appreciated the CICA Secretary General’s financial report of the CICA Secretariat for 2024, along with the external auditor’s report on the financial activities of the Secretariat for the period from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2024— a standard practice during the transition of Chairmanship.
Deliberations at the SOC meeting reaffirmed the strong support of CICA Member States to advancing the organization’s initiatives under Azerbaijan’s Chairmanship, ensuring the continuity of multilateral cooperation and further strengthening CICA’s role in enhancing regional security, fostering connectivity and promoting sustainable growth.
The next meeting of the SOC will be convened in Astana in summer 2025, in conjunction with the inauguration of the new CICA Headquarters — being constructed at the initiative of President K.Tokayev, underscoring Kazakhstan’s commitment as the host country of CICA.
